|
Post by spaceflower on Feb 5, 2015 16:57:47 GMT
The dog (a herding dog) has had unhappy first four years. The owners scared him for life. Then he was to be put to death. But someone working at the vet's had a rescue home and took him in for rehabilation. So now he is rehabilitated, but he's not quite ok. The present owners have him and another replaced dog (a bitch). They also have cats. He stares at the cats, he probably sees them as a kind of sheep. This dog loves his husse (male pet owner) above all. Nobody can pat the dog or have her/his hands near the dog but husse. But the dog even bit his husse's hands once and blood dripped. A herding dog, he reacts very quickly. As long as I don't pat the dog or wave my hands near his head, it should be ok. The dog har no problems with other dogs and does not attack without provocation. But the other dog wants to be patted. I must not confuse the dogs... I can take the bitch out but not the other one. I've seen his matte (female pet owner) doing it. He has a special leash with a very wide loop but he snarls every time. Of course he is afraid, due to bad experiences. But what do you do with a growling dog? You back off. Should I worry? Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Moose on Feb 5, 2015 17:04:48 GMT
I don't know if you should worry or not ... it's quite a big dog
|
|
|
Post by spaceflower on Feb 5, 2015 17:21:20 GMT
He has not shown any aggression when I met him (apart from when putting on a leash). His Matte let both dogs go loose but wanted to leash them when meeting other people with dogs, b/c she did not know those dogs. The bitch does not like small children (bad experiences).
The nervous dog does not want to be patted or fondled but still wants closeness. This he gets by pressing his body against our legs. This is a situation when I automatically pats the dog. So the problem is for me to rembemer "Don't pat THIS dog!"
|
|
|
Post by Mari on Feb 5, 2015 18:02:57 GMT
Here you can buy special leashes that read: " I don't want to be petted. "
|
|
|
Post by spaceflower on Mar 15, 2015 14:22:18 GMT
I can tell every human being getting close "Don't pat this dog". The problem is putting the leash on him. His ears are laid back, he shows his teeth, his eyes look mad and he gnarls loudly. The same thing when he's got into the car. He tries to jump into the cargo space, but his Matte has to lift his rear for him to get in. (He has a back problem, she thinks his earlier owners have thrown him on the back). Inside he starts gnarling. I sat in the backseat. "Don't put your fingers through the bars, he may bite them!" He now started barking too. "What's the matter? Oh, it's the windscreen wiper at the rear window, he perceives it as a threatebing stick, you have to turn it off." It was raining and it was my hubby driving our car. ("Never again!", he said to me afterwards.) The poor dog has PTSD, it seems. We were driving to the goats and sheep in the country. I saw a roe deer looking at us when we arrived. The dogs were let loose. But then Matte had to give the livestock water and hay. She could not open the gate due to the ice on the ground. She climbed over the fence on a ladder. But the kelpie could not climb the ladder and he whined and ran along the fence all the time. (The other dog roamed carefree around.) But he was so unhappy that he could not get to "his" herd, the goats and the sheep. This is how he looked when he was a happy little puppy, before he lefts his mother and breeder.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Mar 15, 2015 22:14:11 GMT
I would not babysit the dog for a million pounds (euros, dollars). If a dog has been abused and is no longer a fit companion for human beings, I have no hesitation in saying he should be put down. He is not a human being and does not have the benefit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 3, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
|
|
|
Post by Alvamiga on Mar 16, 2015 23:36:25 GMT
I do not agree with the "Dog has been abused, so must die" angle. I certainly wouldn't use the "is human" test to determine who or what gets respect or not.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Mar 17, 2015 0:00:48 GMT
"Dog has been abused, so must die" if it is suffering and you have no really good alternative.
|
|
|
Post by spaceflower on Mar 17, 2015 12:48:49 GMT
I can understand the opinion "the dog suffers (he's very stressed since he sees threats from any hand and any stick /sticklookalikes), let him have eternal peace". Otoh, I also understand those who feel that he deserves to meet love and respect and who want his last years to be filled with this. What humans have taken away from him, other humans want to give back to him. And he looks happy when he's playing with the bitch. Or when he lies down inside, surrounded by his humans and his dog companion. The rehabilitator writes on her (I think i is a her) homepage that he needs space. He must not be cornered. But when you put on the leash, he obviously feels cornered. To an abused dog, you have to prove again and again "I will not beat you".
|
|
|
Post by Alvamiga on Mar 17, 2015 15:44:30 GMT
From what I've read, it mostly sounds like a need for a lot of retraining. Not a job for someone who's not up to the task though as it's the kind of thing that needs a lot of time, effort and patience on the part of the trainer. Regaining trust is far more difficult than losing it!
|
|
|
Post by spaceflower on Mar 20, 2015 19:35:00 GMT
He has been retrained and rehabilated. So this is as good as it gets, I guess.
The time for the babysitting is drawing nigh... It is not the "sitting" indoors which worry me, but the going outdoors.
|
|